Wh-a-a-t? I’m not on an organ tour anymore, where we typically visit three churches a day, but I’ve been chauffeuring my sister’s duo (The Braeded Chord) to various church venues for their gigs.

On Thursday, they joined the jazz ensemble at St. Peter’s Episcopal Church in a Jazz Vespers where The Rev. Diane Martinson, my former colleague from Iolani School, is the rector. There Doris Au MacDonald and Sharon Dennis joined Reggie Padilla (tenor sax), Jon Hawes (bass), Dan Del Negro (piano) and Starr Kalahiki (vocals). It was a lot of fun! The collaborated Jazz Vespers featured three Braeded Chord songs on which the St. Peter’s ensemble joined in, then Sharon and Doris added their keyboard, guitar, melodica and tin whistle to the local group’s three songs.

On Friday, I took Doris and Sharon to Arcadia Retirement Residence where they played a 45-minute concert of golden oldies in the large chapel. The seniors were encouraged to sing along on such favorites as “Let me call you sweetheart,” “Tennessee Waltz,” “When the Saints Go Marching In,” “His Eye is on the Sparrow,” “Amazing Grace,” “Lean on Me,” and “Swing Low, Sweet Chariot.”

In the afternoon, we took a quick tour to Tantalus Lookout for the panoramic view.

On Friday night we were at my old stomping grounds, St. Elizabeth’s Episcopal Church, where I was the Parish Administrator for 12 years before retiring in 2015. People were encouraged to eat their dinner in the pews during The Braeded Chord’s concert!

On Saturday afternoon after I finished teaching, we drove out to the Byodo-in Temple, located at the foot of the Ko’olau Mountains in Valley of the Temples Park. It was established in 1968 to commemorate the 100 year anniversary of the first Japanese immigrants to Hawaii. The Hawaii temple is a smaller-scale replica of the 950-year-old Byodo-In Temple in Uji, Japan.

Last night, we were all at the Lutheran Church of Honolulu enjoying the fantastic Early Music Hawaii concert, and this morning Doris and Sharon led the worship at the 8:00 am service with Scott Fikse. It seems hard to believe that it has been ten years since the Braeded Chord introduced its Alleluia Mass communion setting to the Lutheran Church of Honolulu 8:00 am congregation! Of course, it was nice to see all the parishioners I used to see every week.

No sooner had we packed everything into the car, it was time to go to the next church, the 10:30 am service at the United Church of Christ on Judd Street, where The Braeded Chord shared three songs during the sermon time, “Signs and Wonders of the Message,” in addition to teaching the congregation a Benediction song (“The God of peace be with you”). While the congregation had lunch in the courtyard in celebration of the church’s 103rd anniversary, Doris and Sharon gave a concert of secular songs, including some Beatles favorites!

But our day wasn’t over yet! At 5:00 pm, we attended Choral Evensong and Benediction at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church, where the Hawaii Chapter American Guild of Organists officers were installed. Steven Severin, the church’s organist (and my student!), nicely improvised the prelude, postlude, and during Benediction. My sister remarked that we are quite an age-diverse group! Quite an astute observation especially considering that there seem to be few young people who play. The officers are: Yours truly (Dean); Margaret Lloyd (Sub-Dean); The Rev. Paul Lillie (Secretary); Steven Severin (Treasurer); Karl Bachman (Concerts); Elizabeth Wong (Scholarships); Jieun Kim Newland and Miki Yamamoto (Members at Large).

What a weekend! Six churches plus a Buddhist temple in the space of four days!

(P.S. I’m exhausted, and I didn’t even play a note!)